While there is a paradigm shift towards wearable technology in current times, its origin goes back in history to wearable inventions that revolutionized the way we view and track life. From activity-trailing fitness bands to Oculus Rift and Google Glass, big names are participating in the once-niche technology.

The idea of wearable technology is not new and dates back to the 1960s and 70s, when the first wearable computing devices were built to count cards in an attempt to cheat casinos and improve a gambler’s winning odds.

After the initial innovations, wearable technology remained a small-scale field. Other than the eruption of calculator wristwatches in the 80s, it was only a few years after the turn of the millennium when the reality of wearable devices finally caught up with the version depicted in popular sci-fi films, and consumers started to buy into the concept.

Today, wireless sensor technology is considered one of the key research areas in computer science and healthcare sector applications for a better quality of life. Wireless sensors and sensor networks in combination with computing and research in artificial intelligence has built a cross-disciplinary idea of ambient intelligence to overcome the challenges of everyday life.

In recent years, the increasing geriatric population pool in developed countries has become a concern. According to statistics from the Population Reference Bureau, in the next 20 years, individuals aged 65 and over will account for almost 20% of the total population in developed countries.

Hence, governments and healthcare providers in these developed countries are continually striving to provide quality care and services to the rapidly growing elderly population, with an effort to reduce healthcare costs.

To achieve this objective, wearable and implantable body sensors are a tool that has prominent application to integrate sensing and consumer electronics technologies that allows people to be monitored during everyday activities.

What are the Factors Fuelling the Market for Body-worn Temperature Sensors?

Continuous monitoring of patients with wearable and implantable body-worn temperature sensors facilitates early detection of emergency conditions for high-risk patients and also provides several healthcare services for people with varying cognitive and physical disabilities.

Research in various interdisciplinary fields such as computing, engineering, and medicine means that that the broad idea of wearable and implantable body sensor networks (WIBSNs) holds promise for smart healthcare. The factors are collectively responsible for driving demand for wearable temperature sensors, and are thus fuelling the body-worn temperature sensors market.

Moreover, the compressed and portable nature of wearable temperature sensors will positively impact the growth of the market. Increasing demand for smartwatches, heads-up displays, and hand-worn terminals is accentuating growth of the industrial and infotainment sector at present.

With regard to these positive factors, the demand for wearable temperature sensors is expected to increase during the period 2014-2020. Analysts at Transparency Market Research estimate the body-worn temperature sensors market to display a whopping 45.7% CAGR from 2014 to 2020.